As we embark on 2025, I’ve been reflecting on humanity’s and Penn’s immense progress over the past quarter century. We have witnessed dramatic additions to the buildings on our campus as well as Penn Park, enhanced need-blind financial aid and access, most recently through the Quaker Commitment, and emerged as a leader in innovation in multiple fields.
There have also been enormous challenges—some old and some new—and it is understandable if people feel anxious about the future. In Principle and Practice identifies grand challenges like climate and sustainability and the impact of AI on every aspect of our lives. I am optimistic that Penn will play a major role in tackling these challenges.
However, we also face a challenge closer to home: many people are questioning the value and role of higher education in society. This phenomenon did not develop overnight or in a vacuum. Globally, public confidence in all sorts of institutions has diminished. While it is tempting to be defensive, it is more constructive to listen to criticisms, be reflective, and chart a course that will restore trust and support and advance our missions.
I recently had the opportunity to address this very subject, and I maintain that the work of excellent universities like ours has never been more valuable or critical to society’s advance. Penn contributes in three important ways.
We fuel individual success. As exemplified by the Penn experience of our newest Rhodes Scholar, excellent universities help students find their purpose and prepare them for a richly fulfilled and fulfilling life. The lifelong return on investment for individuals, families, and their communities is significant and well-documented.
We drive societal progress. Excellent universities are repositories of humanity’s knowledge. We support the world’s great scholars, researchers, and clinicians. In the best tradition of Franklin, these creative minds expand the frontiers of human understanding. So often, it is the genius, breakthroughs, and Nobel-worthy leaps forward from excellent universities that transform our world.
We work to ensure that humanity and the planet thrive. The knowledge we create reaches every part of the globe. Each year, thousands of students and faculty participate in academic exchanges around the world. As noted above, in our strategic planning for the future, we have identified some of the great challenges of our age. These require solutions and knowledge that do not come from any single field, but from many. Penn is investing broadly, building innovatively, and marshaling the best of our interdisciplinary strength for broad impact.
That’s not to say we cannot do better. As we assert in our University values, we are imperfect but always self-improving. But I believe that higher education remains one of the most powerful drivers of society’s evolution and success.
As we return to campus and to class, I encourage you to see and celebrate all the essential ways you contribute to Penn’s academic missions. Never doubt that your learning, teaching, research, care, and service together compose a powerful force for good in the world.
I hope you enjoyed a restful and relaxing winter break, and I look forward to everything we will achieve in the semester ahead. Welcome to a new year at Penn.